Europe’s Copernicus Earth Observation Constellation welcomed its seventh member on Wednesday after the Sentinel-3B ocean- and land-sensing satellite received a smooth ride to orbit atop a Russian ballistic-missile-turned-space-launcher.

A Rockot/Briz-KM launch vehicle lifted off from Site 133/3 at Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome on April 25, 2018 at 17:57:52 UTC with the Sentinel-3B satellite set to join Europe’s Copernicus Constellation as its seventh member.

A Rockot/Briz-KM launch vehicle lifted off from Site 133/3 at Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome on April 25, 2018 at 17:57:52 UTC with the Sentinel-3B satellite set to join Europe’s Copernicus Constellation as its seventh member.

Europe’s Copernicus satellite fleet is gearing up for the arrival of its next addition on Wednesday with a Russian Rockot booster set to blast off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 17:57 UTC with the Sentinel-3B multi-function satellite.

A Rockot launch vehicle rumbled into the night sky over Russia on Tuesday, lifting into orbit Europe’s Sentinel-3A satellite, joining the Copernicus Earth Observation Program as the constellation’s most heavily instrumented satellite launched to date.

Europe’s Copernicus Earth Observation Satellite Constellation is looking forward to its next addition on Tuesday when the program’s most comprehensive satellite to date rumbles into orbit atop a converted Soviet-era ballistic missile.